Car-door latch.



UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

CHARLES WEIBER, OF SARANAC, MICHIGAN.

CAR-DOOR LATGH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Applicatiou filed March 13, 1911. Serial No. 614,021.

. cleu, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art 1:0 vihieht appertains to make and use the Same.

This invention relates to imprvements in car door latches.

One object of the invention is to provide a latch of this eharacter which will automatically catch when the dooris closed and to which may be applied any suitable look or seal whereby the door is securely locked or sealed in elosed position.

Another object is to provide a latch of thischaracter, the keeper member of whieh is arranged to form a stop t0 limit the clos ing movement of the door.

With these and ether objects in "iew the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will.be more fuliy described and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the aecompanying drawings: Fi ure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a car door and side of the car showing the application of the invention and the position of the parts when the door is partly open; F ig. 35

2 is a side view of a portion of the door and car with the parts in closed position; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an inner side view of the easing for the catch member of the latch; Fig. 6 is a detail perspectit*e view of the catch member of the lat ch; Fig. 7 is a similar view of the combined stop and keeper member of the latch; Fig. 8 is 2, similar view of the brace for said combined stop and keeper member.

My improved car or sliding door latch comprises a catch 1 construeted in the form of a flat bar having one end bent to form a rectangular offset recess 2 in which isarranged a pivot hole 3 whereby the catch bar is pivotally secured to the inner side of a casing 4arranged on and fastened to the outer side of 21, door as shown. The outer end of the; catch bar projects through a notch 5 formedinohe end of the casing and h as the lower edge of its uter end heveled or 1ncl1ned als shown at 6 f or faeilitating the automatic engagement of thebar with akeeper hereinafter described. At the inner end of the beveled port-ion of the bar is The latch 1 is vieldingly held in position to be engaged with the keeper when the door 1s closed by acoiled spring 9 arrenged in -the easing 4 and having its lower end held in position by a stud 10 and its upper end of the keeper brace of the Patentedl\om 14, 1911.

held in engagement with the catch bar by a stud 11 formed on the inner edge of the bar as shown. In order to lift the outer end of thecatch bar against the pressure of the spring 9 and 'co disengage the bar .from the keeper, I provide a suitable eatch lifting meehanism comprising en arm l2'arranged in the lower portion of the casing belo w the bar 1 and having on one end a right angular lug.13 whitzh isdisposed transversely of the casing below the catch bar 1 as clarly shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 of the drawing. The opposite end of the arm 12is secured to en operating shaft 13 arranged through the casing 4 and adjacentportion of the bar. The end of the shaft 13' adjacent to the outer side of the casing 4 has arranged thereon a handle 14 said handle being preferably formed by an extension of the shaft, said extension being flattened and bent first in one direetion and then the other to form an elongated loop which may be readily grasped and operated to turn the shaft in the proper direction for swinging the catch lifting arm 12 upwardly thus swinging the eatch up against the pressureof the spring 9 and out of engagement with the keeper. The opposite end of the sl.aft 13 projects a suitable distance beyond the opposite inner side of the bar and has removablyengaged therewith a handle 15 said handle being 111 the form of a, Het bar bentinto theshape of an elongated loop and having arranged in one side a iectangular passage to receive the square end of the shaft to which said handle is secured by a cotter able fastening device.

Adapted to be engagd by the eateh bar When the door is in closed position is a compin 16 or other suitbined stop and keeper comprising a. flat plate 17 bent at right angles intermediate its ends to form a flatattaching member 18 which is bolted or otherwise secured to the of the right angular end of the stop plate is a keeper lug 21 in the upper end of which is formed anoteh 22 adapted to receive the notched end of the catch when brought info engagement therewith.by the closing ofthe door. The stop plate and keeper lug are firmly braced by a brace rod 23 the inner end of Which is secured to the plate 18 and the onter end of which is flattened and bent at right angles to fit against the onter side of the keeper lug 20 to which sai d flattened end of the brace bar is riveted er otherwise rigidly seeured. In the inner edge of the right angular flattened portion of the brace bar is forrned a notch 24 the lower portion of whieh coincides with the notch 22 in the keeper lug 21 and is adapted to receive the end of the eatch bar When engaged with the keeper. In the horizontal portion of the flattened end of the brace bar is forrned a hole or passage 25 with which the aperture adapted to register.-

in the sealing lug 8 of the catch bar 1 is With the alined holes in the sealing lug 8 and adjacent portion of the brace 23 is adapted te be engaged any suitable form of seal or a padlock whereby a catch bar Will be locked 01 sealed in engagement with the keeper and the door thus prevented from being unfastened by an unauth0rized persori.

By constructing the catchbar and keeper of the latch as herein sh0wn and described it will be seen that when the door is brought to a closed position that the beveled end of the catch bar Will engage tl1e lower edge of the notch 22 in the catch bar and thus cause the notch 7 therein to engage the nocches in the keeper lug and end of the brace 23 thereby automatically fastening the dor.

Fmm the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying clrawings the construction and operation ef the invention Will be readily understood without'requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, preportion and the minor details of construetion may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the adventages of the inventior as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my inverition, what I claim is:

A sliding door latch comprising a casing adapted to be secured to the door, a catch bar operatively monnted in said casing, said bar having abeveled and notched outer end, an apertured sealing lug formed on said ends of the eatch bar, handles operatively connected With said bar, a conlbined door stop and keeper comprising aplafeadapted. te be secured inposition to receive the door, said plate having one end bent ontwardly andlongitudinallyto form a iight angularly shapeddoor receiving portion whereby the closing niovement of the door is limited and the lateral movement of the same prevented, a notched keeper late forrned on the enter end of said stop plate .and adapted to receive the i1otched end of the catch bar when the door is closed, a brace secured at one end to the attaching portion of said stop plate and at its ether end to said keeper plate, said bracebar having in its end adjacent to the keeper plate a notch coinciding With thenotch in said plate and an aperture adapted t0 register with the aperture in the sealing lug of the catch bar when the letter is engaged with the keeper plate.

In testiinony whereof I have hereunto s et my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES WEBER. Witnesses:

DANIEL G. PUTNAM, J U's WALLINGTON. 

